Congratulations Trenese Smith! NAIA Division I’s National Player of the Week & LSWA’s Player of the Week

Trenese Smith is Loyola’s first player to ever be named NAIA Division I National Player of the Week. Smith was also named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week on Thursday. Smith is ranked seventh in the NAIA in scoring, averaging 20.1 points per game and has scored her 1,000th career point.

After breaking two Loyola single game records and tying one GCAC mark, Smith, a 5-8 sophomore guard/forward from LaPlace, La., broke the Loyola single game scoring record with 39 points against Dillard on Thursday. It was the third time this season that Smith has flirted with the single game mark. She initially broke the record with a 37 point performance on January 18 at Spring Hill. She tied the school record on January 5th with 35 points against Belhaven. Also in the Dillard game, Smith converted 10 three point field goals that broke the Loyola record and tied the GCAC record for three pointers in a single game.

For the week, Smith averaged 27.5 points and seven rebounds in wins over Dillard, 96-57, and Southern – New Orleans, 75-53.

Loyola travels to Tougaloo, MS on Saturday, January 26th. Tip off in the women’s game is slated for 5 p.m.